Former President Rodrigo Duterte attends the House quad panel hearing on drug war on Nov. 13, 2024. (Photo from House of Representatives Media Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — After former President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to mount a P1-million fund to support policemen facing charges for drug operation-related cases, Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez asked how come he could not afford his fare.
During the hearing of the House of Representatives’ quad committee on Wednesday, Fernandez mentioned to Duterte Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil’s recent statement that 214 cops faced 352 criminal cases from July 2016 to June 2022, the period when Duterte was in office.
When Fernandez reminded Duterte of his promise to be legally responsible for the cases, Duterte said he would mount P1 million to help the cops.
“He (Marbil) noted that even as former President Duterte publicly committed to supporting those enforcing the campaign, he said there is no official record that these commitments were fully realized,” Fernandez said, quoting a news report.
Duterte replied: I would now make this promise. I will start a fund for the protection of police officers. I’m putting up P1 million. I will find fund sources, I admit that I have P1 million, I will lie if I say I don’t have that, I’ll start, I’ll raise a fund to help the police.”
“I will also personally appear in court, I will be their defense counsel,” he added.
Fernandez then pointed out that just recently, Duterte was complaining about not having money for his airfare.
Duterte butted in before Fernandez could finish his remark, prompting quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers to suspend the hearing.
“Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, two days ago you mentioned you do not have the airfare to go to this hearing, and I’m pretty shocked that you have P1 million in your account to help our policeman. We salute you, Mr. President, for that and for being honest,” Fernandez said.
“That one is for my subsistence,” Duterte said.
Quad committee leaders — Barbers, Fernandez, and other co-chairs like Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano; vice chair Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop; Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr.; and Deputy Speaker David Suarez — last Sunday offered to fund the expenses of Duterte’s entourage after it was floated that money was an issue.
According to the lawmakers, they made the offer “to remove any financial barriers Duterte cited as reasons for missing the panel’s November 7 hearing.”
READ: Quad comm offers to pay for ex-Pres. Duterte’s airfare so he can join probe
“If finances are truly an issue, we’re ready to cover his travel and accommodations ourselves. This is about the people’s right to know the truth about alleged abuses in his administration’s anti-drug operations,” Barbers said.
Revelations from former police officials, like retired colonel Royina Garma’s claims about the existence of a rewards system in the Duterte administration’s drug war, have bolstered lawmakers’ belief that there were irregularities in the operations.
According to Garma, Duterte called her in 2016 about the creation of a task force that would implement the so-called Davao template on a nationwide scale. The Davao template, Garma said, involved providing cash grants worth P20,000 to P1 million to cops who killed drug suspects.
READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH
Garma also claimed that the Davao Death Squad, a team that Duterte supposedly crafted, was common knowledge among police officers in Davao.
At a Senate hearing last October 28, Duterte said he created a seven-man hit squad made up of gangsters when he was Davao City mayor, but he retracted his statement when senators asked for a clarification.
READ: Duterte admits to having ‘death squad,’ later insists it’s not one